UK asking prices drop for the first time since 2009

ASKING prices for UK houses and apartments dropped for the first time since 2009, led by falls in London.

The latest figures from Right Move show that average asking prices for property on its website fell by 0.4 per cent in June, having actually risen by 1.2 per cent in May.

Traditionally this is a time of year when houses prices increase, said Rightmove director Miles Shipside, who told Reuters he thought the decline was due to rising inflation and political uncertainty: “The price of property coming to the market has increased in June in every year since 2009, so buyers’ confidence has clearly been affected by inflation outstripping their pay packets and current political events.”

Rightmove’s figures show that although prices in most parts of the country rose, the overall average was dragged down by prices falling by 2.4 per cent in London and in parts of central and south-eastern England.

Consumer price inflation rose to its highest level in nearly four years at 2.9 per cent in May. Meanwhile wage growth has failed to keep up with this increase.

Meanwhile pressure will be increased further on homeowners after three of the Bank of England’s eight policymakers voted to raise interest rates last week.

Mortgage lender Nationwide has reported three successive monthly falls in house prices for the first time since 2009. Halifax has warned that annual property price growth is at its lowest since 2013.